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Movie Quote Monday – Moonstruck

by fmichellemoran on January 9, 2012

This is such an awesome movie that even my Dad quotes it. There are few movies he’ll watch more than once, and this is one of them. His thing is, “I’ve seen it; I know what happens. Why watch it again?”

I know! That’s just…wrong.

Anyway, are you sick of me saying, “I love this movie”? Because I love this movie. In fact, I’m quoting this movie in my head right now. As I type this post. Ronny is carrying on about his wooden hand at this very moment. (“Bring me the big knife, Chrissy.”) I mean, can you blame him? Johnny’s got his hand. Johnny’s got his bride. (“She won’t do it.”) Do you want Ronny to put away his heartache and forget? Callous.

But that is not the quote we are here to hear today. This is another quote that I really like, and it seems appropriate for January, as this is the time of year when so many people review their lives and decisions. Some write check-off lists of things they want to do or don’t. And some people dream up whole new selves that they desire or want or need to be.

Loretta: A person can…can see where they’ve messed up in their life and they can change the way they do things. And they can even change their luck. So maybe, maybe my nature does draw me to you; that don’t mean I have to go with it. I can take hold of myself and I can…say yes to some things and no to other things that are gonna ruin everything. I can do that.

I like the idea that we are capable of improving ourselves, of being more than a repetition of past behaviors. Or past mistakes.

But it’s interesting to me that Loretta found happiness – joy, really – when she let go of those ideas and simply followed her heart (her natural urges). She never would have been truly happy had she forced herself to stay with the safe, but wrong, man.

Is Ronny right when he said that going against your own nature is “just about the most dangerous thing” you could do? Do we ultimately self-destruct when we attempt to force changes that are unnatural to us?

Where should you draw the line when it comes to becoming a better you?

It’s hard not to gush when talking about this movie. It’s one of my favorites as well. I’ve seen it a zillion times and never get tired of it. When I was in college I worked at a cinema that served food and drinks at tables during the movie. We kept this movie for weeks because it was so popular–and the tips were great!!! Not surprised that you like it so much as well!

Haha, was I gushing? Maybe a little :). Obviously I’ve seen it a lot too! I can almost quote right along as I watch. It’s one of those movies that, when I put it in to get my quote on tape, I have to make myself not watch the whole thing.

I too love this movie! Improvements and making better decisions does not necessarly mean go against your nature, so we need to find that balance somewhere.. And we need to be brave enough to not take our own first reaction to new situations. In this movie, I am so glad things did not end when Loretta slapped Ronny, saying, “Snap out of it!” Ya just cannot do that to love!

That’s a great line, too!! Short and sweet. But I’m glad she gave in, too. She was so fixated on her “bad luck”. As I was writing last night, I was thinking along the same lines as you; it’s about balance. Making better decisions is good, denying who you are is not so healthy.

That’s a good point! She wasn’t going to follow her heart because she lost so much the last time she did that. Personally, I have always wanted to be that person who leaps first. My diaries are riddled with statements to that effect. But I just can’t bring myself to step out of the safety zone.

I love this movie largely because I’m related to some of these people. Yeesh. I love that it’s not your typical Italian-American caricature – I mean, these people are crazy but not in a bad way. They’re crazy in that relatable, “oh-god-my-family-would-do-that-same-thing” way.

My favorite lines:

“Do you love him?”
“No.”
“Good. When you love them they drive you crazy because they know they can.”

I know! Every time we get to those last lines, I just beam – I love it. And Olympia Dukakis is so wonderful, it’s hard to believe she didn’t think she could pull it off.

You’re right, they are a little crazy, but in that normal family kind of way. Watching this movie, you can really believe that they have a history together, a kind of shared family mentality. Like when they are separately told that she’s getting re-married, they each say, “Again?”. It’s lovely, really.

“Do you love him, Loretta?” OMG. This has got to be one of my all time favorite movies. Right up there with Fried Green Tomatoes – I could watch both over and over again. There are so many lessons and so many feelings that these movies invoke. I love Nicholas Cage and when I first saw him – I thought – UGH! how will this man ever become a star and then every time I saw him in other works, I wonder ” what in the world was I thinking, he is a star. He is so tragic and so believable…. Peggy Sue got married would just not be the same with anyone else. But Moonstruck…. I get all excited just thinking about this movie. Perfect characters, perfect cast, perfect message, so many quotables.

You know what? I like Fried Green Tomatoes, but I can’t watch it very much. In fact, it’s been years and years since I saw it.

Moonstruck, though, I can watch over and over. I’ve liked Nicolas Cage since I saw him the first time in Racing with the Moon (I had to look that title up), and then Birdy sealed it for me. I haven’t seen him in anything lately, because he seemed to be getting a little weird, and I don’t want to ruin my Nicolas Cage love :). Speaking of Peggy Sue, I just watched that one last month – that’s a great one for both him and Kathleen Turner.

Anyway, I agree about the getting excited part. Every time someone comments, I get excited about the movie all over again and a bunch of dialogue runs through my head. It’s like Angela said about the gushing – I’m having a hard time not quoting and quoting and quoting! Maybe I should just let go and do it. It’s my blog, right? “I ain’t no freakin’ monument to justice!”

Okay – I’ll give you that. By the way, what about Places in the Heart. I love that movie. I don’t know why, but I could watch it over and over. Your dad doesn’t like is quite so much, mainly because of the final church scene where they are passing the communion and all the people who have died in the movie are there. I tried to explain it was because these “dead” people are occupy places in the still living people’s hearts. I believe this very thing, as long as someone holds your memory in their heart, you are not really dead. You remain alive in the heart of this person and you continue on, just not in the human body sense. I hold so many people’s memory in my heart – maybe that is why I love this movie. Also because it is a great story and the characters are so true. Plus it was great casting. Just like Moonstruck and Fried Green Tomatoes. But I go on too much.

My leap would be one of freedom to be completely myself, without fear of rejection or embarassment. I have occasionally been in a mood where I just say what I’m thinking and I’m totally confident and upbeat and…it’s hard to explain. Mostly I am not that person, I am more guarded.

I was just thinking, maybe you just need to shake it up a little, take a dance class or something. Like bellydancing. Something totally different. Sometimes I think we just get bored or in a rut. Go do something fun. Or something you’ve always wanted to do or to do again. I’m going to volunteer at the community theater. I did children’s theater when I was a kid and chorus in school, and I want to be around that kind of environment again, at least for a try. Plus I’ll meet some new people.